Friday, January 18, 2008

A Coat in My Future? and Books!

It's a horribly cold day today, (high of 15) and I went out this afternoon to the grocery store for a few essentials since this is going to be the "warm" day for the next week. Of course I felt compelled to stop at Hancock Fabric for their 5-day sale. There were a few of those 99 cent Simplicity patterns I needed.

Well, I took a quick tour around the store and happened to notice a piece of extremely wide-wale corduroy on the home-dec remnant table. It's my color, a dull gray-green, and I've been looking for a corduroy like this for a couple years to make a coat. There was a little over 3.5 yards, so I can make a car-coat length, which is just what I want. There was also a nice thick, fairly drapey faux suede in a matching color, so I can have a little detailing. Then I happened to find a beautiful stretch moleskin in a very similar color as well. I'm thinking a pair of pants from it, and there may be enough for something else as well. So, my quick look turned into a huge bag that I brought home. I'm really pleased with what I found though. The three pieces are in the photo above. I want a fairly plain style, and I'm going to look through my patterns, as I suspect I have something that will be just perfect. I'm hoping to end up with something similar to a RTW coat that's my everyday do-anything coat. It's getting a little aged now, so a replacement would be fine.

The other book is The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes of The Knitters Review. I expect to be able to match yarns and patterns more easily with this in hand. I hope so anyway. I imagine a lot will depend on whether I take the advice I'm given, or whether I decide I can make it work anyway. Live and learn!

My last new treasures are the Japanese pattern books Pattern Magic 1 & 2. I read on several websites in December that you could order them from AmazonJapan, and they were having a free shipping special so it was the time to order. I'd been wishing for the first one for quite some time, and when this deal came, and both books were available, I bit. Well, they're lovely books, and when you order, no shipping shows in your total. However.....when they come, the shipping is included, and it's slightly more than the cost of the books. I contacted AmazonJapan and they will do nothing about it. So, I'm pleased with the books, but there's a definite bad taste in the mouth as well.

I enjoyed seeing your finds from Hancock Fabrics. Practical things are enjoyable to make. Thanks so much for mentioning The Art of Knitting, since it was totally off my radar. I see the same author wrote a book called The Art of Embroidery. I hope to at least see these books someday. I was delighted with Clara Parkes' book, so I hope you enjoy using it.Sorry to hear about the frustration of the shipping charges. I suspect you'll turn lemons into lemonade by making some outstanding things from the books. I've enjoyed the ideas in vol.1. Best wishes for a creative 2008!Miriam

If the inside of those books are anything like the covers, it might be even worth the shipping costs. I agree it is better, if you can make the choice on paying for shipping. I wish I could sit on your couch and have a peek in those books with you. Lucky you to find 3 lots of fabric for a complete outfit.